‘Judo Jim’ Becomes Latest Bellator Acquisition

Team Rough House standout Jim
Wallhead has agreed to terms on a multi-fight contract with
Bellator Fighting Championships. The fledgling promotion announced
its latest acquisition on Monday.

A well-rounded finisher and one of the top welterweights in Europe,
the 25-year-old Englishman has been invited to compete in the
Bellator welterweight tournament in April. He joins a list of
notable recent signees, including 2008 Olympian Ben Askren,
Sengoku veteran Dan
Hornbuckle and Arizona Combat Sports standout Jacob
McClintock.

“Adding Jim to our welterweight division is magic for Bellator,”
BFC founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a release. “Jim is the
real deal. As a fan, I can’t wait to see Wallhead, Askren,
McClintock and Hornbuckle face off.”

A Judo national champion and longtime black belt, Wallhead last
competed in November, when he outpointed Che Mills under
the Knuckle Up MMA banner. A teammate of UFC standouts Dan Hardy and
Paul
Daley, the judoka has delivered 13 of his 18 career victories
by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Bellator inked a multi-tiered television deal with Fox Sports Net,
NBC and Telemundo in October, giving the promotion instant
credibility and staying power.

“I’ve been looking for a home in a big promotion for quite a while,
so I’m just over the moon about signing with Bellator,” said
Wallhead, who has won his last six fights. “I watched the Bellator
shows last year, and it’s really just a great, high-standards
promotion. I’m relishing the challenge to let it all hang out, to
take some risks and, hopefully, to have some success against the
top competition in the world.”